


Strange Times

by waytooserious



Series: That Little Bit More [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-04
Updated: 2013-06-04
Packaged: 2017-12-13 23:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/830294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waytooserious/pseuds/waytooserious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott understands he's not the brightest bulb in the box, but he's been working hard to improve himself.</p><p>And besides ... he's not completely blind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strange Times

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever Sterek fic!
> 
> I've been shipping it forever, but never really been inspired to write until today. It's not brilliant and it's probably more than a little overdone at the moment. But here it is anyway!
> 
> Apologies to anyone who already covered this material today - it's a popular topic and I can't keep up!

Scott knows his friends love him; they’ve proved they’ll do anything for him. Especially Stiles, who’s almost _died_ for him before. Can’t ask more than that. But he also knows they don’t see him as a thinker – an ace or two short of the full deck, Stiles has said more than once, and wondered how Scott survived without him – most of the time, surrounded by Lydia and Allison and Stiles and Jackson, it was hard to argue.

But these days, he feels like maybe he has more insight. Maybe it’s all the books he’s reading? He’s becoming aware of the changes around him.

Take Stiles. Scott knew he wouldn’t be keen on the idea of going to Derek for help with the damned disappearing tattoo, and … he was right. ‘Derek? Why? Why?’ Stiles always reacted strongly to involving Derek in anything (Scott’s never been able to figure it out; he’s not that bad, and Stiles had always been friendly with the rest of the world) so he expected the full protest, something about him being weird and dangerous, with a side of ‘we’re better off without him.’

Instead, Stiles’ voice … softens, that’s the only word for it. ‘Don’t you think he has enough to deal with?’ To Scott’s surprise, his tone is gentle, even sympathetic. And since when does Stiles have empathy for Derek Hale?

Still … Boyd and Erica’s disappearance has been hard on everyone. Yeah, that could be it. Yeah.

~~~~~~~~~~

Never mind Stiles, though. Scott’s ecstatic to see Derek in the elevator at the hospital, and it makes him think things might be getting better between them, working together like this, rescuing an unconscious Isaac and taking him back to the relative safety of the Hale house. He hasn’t seen Derek all summer, but he seems less intense now.

Stiles calls, panicking about something in English class, but Scott can’t deal with it right now, and tells him to meet at Derek’s. There’s an odd note of panic in his voice that Scott can’t quite figure out; he knows Stiles isn’t afraid of Derek any more. It’s definitely strange, but right now Scott has other thing on his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~

Now, Scott might be picking up on a lot of strange things these days, but it strikes him that nothing is quite as weird as this new, mellow attitude of Derek’s. He doesn’t know what’s strangest: thanking Scott for his help, owing him one, or listening to his heartbroken rambling over Allison. 

There are no glares, no insults, no threats, thinly veiled or otherwise. Derek listens, cooperates, even seems vaguely supportive.

Scott has no idea what has happened to mellow Derek out, but something definitely has.

He has a vague notion that he should be grateful to whoever is responsible. Thank them, even.

~~~~~~~~~~

Friendlier or not, it feels strange being back here, being around Derek again. He can’t imagine how Stiles is going to react.

The strangest thing is that Stiles doesn’t seem to find it strange at all. He’s talking a hundred words a minute as soon as he arrives. And … well, Scott loves Stiles like a brother, but his chatter can be a long to take. Derek’s never been particularly patient before. But now … he doesn’t react to it at all.

Must be his new, Zen-Alpha mindset, Scott figures. All for the best.

But … is there more to it than that? Scott does most of the talking, but all the time it feels like there’s some unspoken conversation going on between Stiles and Derek. Maybe he’s being paranoid, but there’s something in the way their eyes keep meeting and parting, as if they’re talking, but Scott’s mysteriously deaf. It’s weird.

And their eyes track each other. He tries to figure out if it’s Stiles or Derek, but … no. It’s definitely both of them.

It’s almost as if they’re … comfortable … with each other.

~~~~~~~~~~

He’s surprised Derek agrees to the tattoo, but then, he’s clearly been through something similar himself. 

Before he knows where he is, he’s pinned to the chair as Derek blasts the blow torch against his bicep. And, oh man, he was right. This is worse than anything he’s felt before. He’s surprised Stiles stays, and stays conscious.

Of course, he tried to leave, but Derek stopped him. It’s another thing Scott can’t quite understand. Actually, it made him a little uncomfortable, the way Derek stopped Stiles leaving with a firm hand on his chest; not his arm or his shoulder, but right in the middle of his chest. And … he didn’t even take his eyes from Scott’s. It suggests a level of familiarity that makes Scott begin to panic …

… but then the pain from the torch is too much; he’s screaming, and the room is spinning. He focuses on the feeling of Stiles’ hands on his shoulders, there as much for comfort as they are for restraint, before he starts to black out.

Just before the room goes dark, a stray thought, quite possibly a hallucination, pops into his mind.

Did Stiles just _wink_ at Derek?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking about a sequel covering what happens while Scott'S out cold? Popular subject today, I know, but I'm still tempted ...


End file.
